The chief executive of South Korea's trade association said Tuesday that free
trade deals will lead to the development of the country's economy by bolstering
exports, employment and foreign investments.
"Free trade pacts are
designed to promote exports, imports and foreign investments. They will lead our
economy to develop further by boosting the entire industry and creating more
jobs," Korea International Trade Association (KITA) chairman Han Duck-soo told
reporters at a luncheon meeting.
Han was inaugurated as the KITA chief
in February after quitting his post as the ambassador to the United
States.
The South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), also known as
KORUS FTA, is scheduled to take effect on Thursday after long-drawn bilateral
negotiations and political disputes. Opposition parties have called for the
renegotiation of the agreement, claiming that the KORUS FTA unfairly favors the
U.S. and destroys weak local industries and the farming sector.
"I
know there must be some sectors and industries that will face difficulties due
to the free trade deals," said Han. "But we should not fall to defeatism, and
must try to turn difficult times into opportunities."
For the
so-called controversial investor-state dispute (ISD) settlement, the KITA chief
said the provision is needed to protect foreign investors from being treated
unfairly by local authorities.
Opposition groups claim that the ISD
mechanism undermines South Korea's legal independence and demand the Seoul
government scrap it.
"The ISD clauses are usually inserted in a trade
pact to give options to foreign investors when they are unilaterally
discriminated against," said Han. "This is the essential part of trade deals to
attract more foreign direct investments."
South Korea has aggressively
moved to strike free trade deals with bigger economic blocs in a bid to expand
what it calls its "economic territory."
The FTA with the European
Union took effect in July last year. Seoul is also working hard to explore such
deals with its neighboring countries, including China and Japan.
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